Unintended
by mulhollanddrivee
Summary: Confiding in someone she had no intentions of even talking to may have taken the biggest weight off AJ's shoulders. AJ/Roman Reigns one shot, just after Night of Champions.


So I've been meaning to write for these two for quite a while, as it's a pairing that I've grown so fond of, so this likely won't be the last you'll see of them from me. The whole 'ganging up on AJ' thing and nice guy Reigns sparked the idea. Enjoy! :)

The event had ended almost an hour ago and she was still there. Almost everyone had left the building and the halls were deserted. She had been alone and thinking ever since everyone had left, even way before that, but she needed it. She needed time to herself and to just forget about everything and everyone around her and think about things. The night itself had drained her physically and mentally, but she knew that was her own fault for not preparing herself enough beforehand. Everything had gotten too much lately and she couldn't help but feel empty; like something was missing. Maybe it was a lot of things.

AJ sat on the locker room bench with the Divas title firmly in her grasp on her lap; her eyes not leaving it for a second. She traced her fingertips over the name engraved into the plate - the same name that had been there for over three months now. The name she intended on keeping there. "I gave it all up for you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, she wasn't even sure if she meant to say it out loud.

Sniggering, she flipped the title belt onto her shoulder and rose to her feet. The gym bag she had carelessly stuffed her things in was then slumped over her other shoulder. The Divas champion had every intention of leaving now, time was really getting on, and she sure as hell needed some fresh air and more importantly, coffee.

She hadn't bothered to change out from what she had wrestled in that night, only putting on her jacket, and that stupid decision hit her just as she walked through the doors and outside into the stinging cold. She shivered heavily at the harsh cold that hit her, pulling the sides of the leather jacket tighter around her, though it didn't serve as much purpose. The bag hung over her shoulder had slipped down her to her forearm and the title belt on the other shoulder fell to the ground with a clunk. The diva gritted her teeth in frustration, taking a deep breath before bending down to pick up the belt.

"Need some help?"

AJ's head shot up at the voice, shocked to see who it was. Her eyebrows narrowed in question as Roman Reigns stood tall above her. "No thanks," she told him. "I'm fine." She stood upright and folded the belt in her hands - still keeping it in her grasp and not away. "Wow, and I thought I was the only person crazy enough to stand outside of an arena in the freezing cold after everyone had left."

"Well, you're apparently not the only one."

"What are you doing here?" AJ asked the Shield member, and he shrugged.

"No other reason than because I chose to, it's a nice view from here," he turned to face her and raised a brow. "Why are you here? It's cold. And late. And you're still in your ring gear."

"I'm aware. I just needed some space to get my head around things."

Roman stuffed his hands in his pockets and sniggered. "And here is the place to do that?"

"Well... no, I just... wanted to be alone. Obviously that's not working out for me."

His hands suddenly came up in defence. "Hey, I wasn't planning on bugging you. Well, that was until you disturbed my peace by dropping your stuff to the ground."

AJ sent a dark glare his way, ignoring his attempts at making her out to be a fool. She'd had enough of that already.

The cold air continued to nip at her exposed thighs, and she shivered subconsciously. Roman frowned at the grimacing look on her face.

"Come on," he urged, walking ahead of her, and for some reason beyond her understanding, she followed him. They continued walking, AJ walking as fast as her legs could manage; anything to generate body heat. It was then that she realised he was walking towards the car park.

"You know, the whole reason I came out here was to head back to my hotel," AJ had to shout. The woman quickened the pace of her walking to catch up with his long, fast steps.

"Yeah, and I have a car. With heat. Clearly something you could do with." He walked over to the car he had parked near the entrance - one of the very few vehicles still there - and pressed the button on his keys to unlock it. He eased the bag from her arm, walking over to drop it into the boot along with his own bag. She's already got herself into the car as fast as one possible could. When he finally sat down in the car, he looked over to AJ who still had the Divas title with her, still staring at it.

"You're kidding," he muttered, starting the car and turning the heat to full.

"You obviously don't take pride in being a champion." Her tone was dry and she didn't at all take her focus from the belt.

"Trust me, I do. But to a certain degree."

The tag champion said nothing else, only pulling the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. The two said nothing to each other, AJ turning her attention to look out of the window. It wasn't often that she was able to visit Detroit, but she did think of it as a cool city, and right now she was driving around it in Roman Reigns' car.

"Can we stop off for some coffee?" AJ asked, her tone still bland and her attention on the outside.

"That's where I was going. I should think this place has late night cafes."

After a few more turns, he managed to find one. "You're not going to take that in with you, are you?" Roman questioned quite seriously, referring to the belt in AJ's lap, and she just shook her head, then opened the car door to get out. She popped open the boot and placed her title in with their things, after that heading into the cafe Reigns had parked outside of. He followed her in shorty and ordered two coffees to sit in with before sitting opposite her on the seats.

"So, you were planning on leaving the arena in the freezing cold and walking back to your hotel with your title in your hands and ring gear still on. Right, great start."

"Yes, maybe. What does it have to do with you?"

The man shrugged and leaned back in the chair. "Nothing at all, but you and I both know that that's not safe. So, why?"

The champion sighed. "I don't know. I didn't really men to stay that late, it's just... I didn't really want to run into anyone. It's not something I want to be dealing with."

"You're talking about all the pissed off women you upset a few weeks back?"

"I didn't upset them," AJ spat. "I told them exactly what they were and where they stood. I couldn't care less about their feelings towards me, I told the truth that night and nothing but."

The man just nodded slowly, thanking the waitress as she brought them their coffees. AJ slid the small plate that held the cup towards her and added sugar. "They don't deserve it. They did nothing for it. None of them even deserved to step in the ring with me tonight," she continued, stirring the sugar and milk into the coffee slowly. "It just feels as if they're all ganging up on me, every one of them. I know I took a risk with that speech... but it had to be said. They had to be brought back to reality. The reality being, that it takes pride and dedication to be a champion. Something that they will never be."

Roman said nothing, he knew that that was the right thing to do. Maybe letting off this steam would put her in a better state of mind. There was a long silence between the two, but not an awkward silence, a silence that Roman let AJ have to think - the very thing she'd been doing all night.

"Then there's Kaitlyn," AJ almost choked on her words. She dragged a hand through her hair and took a long breath. "You don't really care, do you?" she asked with a smile, but the sort of smile that only came with tears. And it did.

Again, Roman just nodded, giving her the silence to speak. "Continue."

The woman sighed. "I haven't spoken to her in weeks. It's just... crazy to think that we were inseparable a few years ago. Before all of this. I pushed her away for the most important thing to me in the world. But I want her to be happy for me and cherish this with me, because she's the one person who knows how much I've wanted this. How hard I worked..." she looked up at the man sat in front of her, the man she knew nothing about, the man who was the only person she'd let all of this out to. "Why am I telling you this?"

"Because it's what you wanted to do," he shrugged, "tell someone who knows nothing about you so they can't judge. Someone who'll listen and do nothing else. I know you're not looking for advice or someone to preach to you, just a pair of ears, and that's what I was." He finished off his coffee and looked down at hers. "Now, are you gonna finish that so I can get us both back to our hotel rooms, because I'm pretty bushed, and you probably are, too."

AJ nodded and gave him nothing but the sincerest of smiles. "Thank you, stranger. I really do mean it."

"My pleasure, AJ."

End. 


End file.
